This blog is an attempt to preserve, document & share Pakistan's contemporary & traditional culinary heritage. It tells stories and shares recipes from my maternal grand mother and mother's kitchens along with my own stories and memories of growing up in Pakistan.

Sunday, 20 September 2015

Muslims all over the world are getting ready to celebrate Eid this coming week.
Every household has its own Eid traditions in Pakistan. Those of us who live away from Pakistan try to continue those traditions to
ensure our kids stay connected to our culture. Eid ul Azha or Bari Eid as it is
called in Pakistan is centered around food and family. This Eid is a bit more
stressful because of the involvement of qurbani or animal sacrifice. Those who are
incharge of qurbani at home, understand the preparation needed to buy animals for
this ritual and arrange for the help needed for qurbani. Whichever day a
household chooses to do qurbani is a chaotic one in the kitchen. The BBQs and
the roasted raans – leg of lamb surely follow in the days ahead.

Eid is also the time to include the less fortunate ones in
our celebration and remember those who are no longer with us.

I am sharing my favorite recipe of Mutton pulao. This pulao
is beautifully flavored and deliciously fragrant. The stock is the key
ingredient in this pulao. Stock can be prepared a night before, which can
significantly reduce cooking time on a very busy day. Eid Mubarak to everyone! Here is the recipe.

Ingredients for Mutton Stock

Mutton – 1 kilo

Onions – 6 medium – sliced

Bay Leaves – 2-3

Ginger – 2 inch

Garlic – 6 large cloves whole

Cinnamon – 2 inch

Peppercorns – 1 tbsp

Cloves – 12-14

Black Cardamom – 5

Cumin – 1 tbsp

Coriander seeds – 2 tbsp.

Salt – 2 tsp (adjust to taste later while cooking rice)

Oil – 5 tbsp

Water – 6-7 cups

Stock- Procedure :

Use a stockpot to make the stock. Heat oil in the pan and fry diced onions till brown.

Add ginger garlic and fry for about a minute till they get a bit of color.

Add mutton and fry on high heat till it changes color on all sides.

Add all the spices and fry for a minute or 2.

Add 6-7 cups of water and salt. Once it comes to a boil lower the heat and cover the pan. The stock should simmer on low heat for 55-70 mins or till the meat is cooked perfectly.

Once done, let the stock cool. Strain it and separate the meat. Use the stock as per your requirement and save the rest to use for next matar pulao. I was using all of the cooked meat but the stock was more than what I needed so I froze the rest for later use.

Add 2 whole green chilies. I love the fragrance they add to the rice. You can eliminate it if you wish.

Drain the rice and add to the hot stock. Let the rice simmer over medium heat for about 5-8 mins. Once 1/4th of the stock is remaining, put the rice on dum/steaming.

I use a hot griddle over the open flame or over electric stove. Seal the pan with aluminum foil and cover tightly with a lid, Put the sealed pan over the hot griddle over low heat. Add a bit of weight on the top to stop the steam from escaping. Use minimum heat setting/low flame for steaming.

The rice should be done in about 10-12 mins. Remove from heat and open the pan carefully as it would have tons of seam inside.

Mix the rice and fluff them. Let them sit for about 5-7 mins before serving hot.

This pulao serves well with yogurt raita or mint chutney,
coupled with shami kebabs or potato cutlets.

Wednesday, 5 August 2015

Pakistani summer brings such amazing variety of fruits to the table. In old times without freezers and refrigerators readily available in homes, grannies made chunteys and preservatives out of seasonal fruits to allow the families to enjoy these fruits long after their season was gone.

Reading allo bukhara chutney post by a fellow blogger come - con - ella made me look for my mother-in-laws recipe of making this particular chutney and allo bokharay aur imli ka sherbat (Plum & Tamarind Drink) at home. I will share the drink's recipe at some other point in time. I was able to try MIL's version of plum chutney which turned out to be worth making again in large quantity to consume and distribute as a culinary gift.

Allo Bukhara Chutney is a perfect condiment that can be served with a meal or with your afternoon tea time pakoray and samosay. Once you have made this at home, you will never buy that bottle of ready made chutney. This can be made in large quantities and stored in sealed bottles in fridge for atleast 2 months.

Ingredients

Fresh Plums - 1 kilo

Brown Sugar - 1/3 cup

White Sugar - 1/3 cup

Crushed Red Chilies- 1 tsp

Roasted Cumin seeds - 1 tsp

Roasted Char -e -Maghaz( Dried Melon seeds) - 1/4 cup

Salt - 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

Water - 1 cup

Method

Boil a large pot of water. As soon as the water boils add washed plums to it. Time for 3 minutes and drain plums in a colander.

Once the water drains, put a pan under the colander as the plums will start releasing its juices. Ensure that you save all of it.

Tuesday, 30 June 2015

Mango season and Ramzan have been coinciding since last few
years. My love for mangoes has made me incorporate mangoes in my iftar regularly. With June's blistering
heat around, one longs for things that are cold and refreshing while breaking the fast.
Mango yogurt provides that along with appropriate nutrition. It’s simple and
easy to make. I always save an extra bowl for sehri as well. Hope you will try it out.

Ingredients

Unsweetened Yogurt – 500 gms

Sugar – ¼ cup

Mangoes – 3 medium sized (cubed)

Dated – 8 (pitted and chopped)

Fresh Apricot/Khobani – 5-8, (pitted and chopped)

Almonds – 8-10 (Coarsely chopped)

Method:

Add sugar to the yogurt and mix till the sugar dissolves. I
prefer lesser sugar as mangoes are pretty sweet themselves.

Friday, 22 May 2015

Before the arrival of mass produced - ready to use jams, pickles and chutneys, everything was prepared
at home. In early eighties, my Nani- maternal grandmother prepared achaar - pickle, murabbay and Chutneys at home ritualistically. These homemade products
were consumed around the year and the friends and family also had their share
in the prized produce. This activity would take place during summer holidays
when tons of extended family would be over.

Nani, her sister and sisters in
law and other lady cousins visiting her, would divide the work of cleaning and
chopping up tons of vegetables along with cleaning, roasting and grinding of
sack load of the spices. Rock salt was bought and crushed at home in a gigantic
brass pestle mortar called hammam dasta. Dried Haldi rhizomes/roots were crushed to
make powder at home. Large Martabans – Clay pots were bought and seasoned for
the pickling process. Fresh Mustard oil was ordered from nani’s trusted Teli – the
Oil maker. Mustard oil was prepared for use on an outdoor wood fire stove.

Pickling involved tons of work and
working together allowed these ladies to bond and share their issues, stories and
happy moments. During these moments Nani would find out the domestic issues and
offer help, advice and intervention if needed. Nani being the oldest daughter
in law kept her own and her husband’s family together which was a rare trait of
hers.

This year I decided to make nani’s
traditional pickle at home which was my first attempt of pickling. I
had help from my cook hence the process was smooth. My produce also has share for
my mother in law and aunts who are anxiously waiting for it to get ready. I
hope I can continue to do this every year. To me this activity is therapeutic and
my own way of connecting to a woman I loved and didn't get the chance to know
alot.

Ingredients:

Lemons – 12 (Quartered – remove the seeds)

Fresh Green Chilies – 20 long
(make a lengthwise slit)

Carrots – 4 Medium. (Cut like
match sticks but thicker in size)

Green Mango – 6 – Cut in chunks

Fresh Curry Leaves - 24

Garlic – 2 bulbs (Peeled)

Mustard Oil – 6-7 Cups

Spices:

Fennel seeds /Saunf– 2 Tsp –
heaped

Nigella seeds/ Kalonji – 3 tsp –
heaped

Mustard Seeds / Rai Dana– 3 tsp –
heaped

Fenugreek Seeds /Methi Dana – 3
tsp – heaped

Crushed red chilies – 3 tsp –
heaped

Turmeric/ Haldi – 1 tsp

Salt – 10 tsp – Heaped

Prepare the Mustard oil

Pour the Mustard Oil in a deep
sauce pan. Put 3 cloves of garlic with skin in the cold oil. Boil the oil at
high heat for 15 mins. This is done to eliminate the natural bitterness and
dense smell of the mustard oil. Ensure that the kitchen is well ventilated as
you boil the oil. It will release tons of smoke and unpleasant smell so be
prepared. It’s a good idea to exit the kitchen as it boils and come in to
switch off the stove. Light some extra candles in the kitchen as you undertake
this activity. I would not suggest doing this if you live in a flat with open
plan kitchen as the house will smell of oil for days.

Cool the oil. Put aside.

Prepare the vegetables

Cut all the vegetables as
instructed.

Mix all the spices and spread
evenly over the vegetables. Use a glazed clay dish or High grade plastic
utensil for this activity. Grannies advise not to use any metal utensil in
pickle making as the acid from the lemon can corrode the metal leading to pickle
going black and bad in days ahead. I have used clay pots and a wooden
spoon to do the mixing.

The spiced vegetables need to be
put in sun for about 2-3 days till their water dries up.

On the third day, add the
vegetables to the big claypot /martabaan and pour the cold mustard oil over the
vegetables till everything is completely submerged in the oil.

The pickle is required to be put
in sun daily for about 10-15 days in summer and 15-20 days in winter before the
vegetables become soft and ready for consumption. Mix the pickle daily with a dry wooden spoon.

Everyone has their own favorite things to eat with this condiment. I enjoy this with Daal Chawal - Curried Lentil and boiled rice. Happy Pickling!

Friday, 17 April 2015

Palak gosht was cooked a lot in my mother’s household during
the winter season. I never liked what meat did to the spinach. While living in London, once I had
Palak chicken at one of the Pakistani restaurants and loved it. Later I tried my
own version at home and have not looked back ever since. My brother O who was
studying at University of Warwick during that time, became the guinea pig for
my cooking experiments.

My palak chicken not just got a high approval rating from
him but I also got a request to make some palak chicken for him to take along
to Warwick. For the year he was there, I used to make a stack of food for him
and freeze it which he would take along to eat for next 2 weeks. A quarter in
to the year, I started getting phone calls from his Pakistani and Indian class
mates with specific requests for food, followed by thank you phone calls.

I wasn't thrilled to find out that O’s flatmates were eating all of his home cooked food. My firsthand experience taught me that the one thing that you miss the most while living away from home is the home cooked food. I quietly doubled the food he took to Warwick. Things sisters do for little
brothers!!! Last night O called me from his office and asked me if I could make
some palak chicken for him. I am always happy
to fulfill such farmaish. We had it with boiled rice.

Here is the recipe.

Ingredients

Chicken – ½ kilo (6-8 pieces)

Fresh Spinach – 1 kilo (You can use frozen if fresh is
not available)

Tomatoes – 4 Medium sized (make a puree with 2 green
chilies)

Fresh Ginger Garlic Paste – 1 tbsp (heaped)

Mustard Seeds – 1 tbsp

Dried Whole Chilies - 4-5

Roasted Cumin seeds – 1 Tbsp (crushed)

Roasted Coriander seeds – 1 Tbsp (crushed)

Crushed Red Chilies -1 tsp (Adjust to taste)

Salt – 1 tsp (adjust to taste)

Oil : 6 Tbsp

Method:

Wash the spinach and steam it in a large pan. Once steamed, puree
it with the hand blender. Put aside.